Tag Archives: Box Hill

At the Foot of the Cherry Tree

'At the Foot of the Cherry Tree' cover

‘At the Foot of the Cherry Tree’ cover

My first four-week trip to Australia in 1986 was going to be my last one. Life had other plans though and in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1996 I revisited Melbourne, staying in the eastern suburb of Box Hill. The motel I stayed in was fine at the time; it now generates the most extraordinarily bad reviews (‘I would rather sleep homeless in a warzone that in this hellhole’)! In those days, Box Hill was the Korean capital of Melbourne; it’s changed significantly since then with a number of high-rise towers being built in recent years and Mandarin Chinese now being the single most spoken language in Box Hill homes.

Roll the clock forward to 2008 and I moved to Australia, not to continue the suburban life I’d left behind but for a new life in a Melbourne Docklands high-rise. Box Hill still interested me so in time I joined the Box Hill Historical Society. Our monthly talks have covered a wide range of subjects. I’ve particularly enjoyed those from members describing growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, comparing my UK experience with theirs.

July 2024’s talk was one that I went to unsure as to how interesting it would be. How wrong I was! Our guest speaker, Alli Parker, told us about her historical novel, At the Foot of the Cherry Tree. It’s a novelisation of the true story of Australia’s first Japanese war bride, Alli’s grandmother, who came to Melbourne after World War II, but only after a long hard struggle.

Alli’s grandfather, Gordon Parker (b.1928), the second of seven children, grew up in Ringwood, 10km east of Box Hill, and at 18 volunteered to serve in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) who were stationed in Kure, 20km SE of Hiroshima. Following the end of WW2, BCOF was responsible for supervising demilitarisation. On his first day there, he met Nobuko Sakuramoto (“Cherry”), a 16-year-old atomic bomb survivor, who was employed as an orderly in the BCOF camp. Despite strict anti-fraternisation rules between the Australians and Japanese, the two became friends and fell in love.

As Gordon’s service came to an end, he decided that he wanted to bring Cherry back to Melbourne as his war bride. Opposition came from all sides. Many Japanese wanted nothing to do with those they saw as responsible for the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Australians, like other allies, were all too mindful of the treatment that had been meted out to their POWs by the Japanese. Almost no one could understand why Gordon should do something so stupid as to get involved with a Japanese girl, let alone marry her – twice, at a Sinto shrine in 1948, then at a Japanese Anglican church in 1950 after he discovered the White Australia policy wouldn’t let her into the country.

The defeat of Labor in 1949 had led to a change of immigration minister: Arthur Calwell, a staunch proponent of the White Australia policy, was replaced by Harold Holt. Holt continued with the White Australia policy but “added his human touch and flexibility to hardship cases.” The press carried articles sympathetic to Gordon and Cherry’s plight which evoked a lot of public support, though not from everyone.

And then … At then end of 1951 Cherry and children were granted visas to come to Australia.  Note everyone cheered: ‘Distressed Father’ of Sale wrote to the Herald: “As a father of two sons fighting in Korea, I protest against Mr. Gordon Parker being given approval to bring his Eurasian children and Japanese wife here. We are fighting right now for the right of whites to live in their own country. We do not want Eurasian children to mix with our children in schools or anywhere else.”

The voyage to Sydney took a month. The press were in force to record the arrival of Australia’s first Japanese war bride. Trans Australia Airlines had laid on limousine to take them to the airport for the flight to Melbourne.

At the Parker home in Ringwood friends and family were gathered. A huge pile of cards and gifts from unknown well-wishers showed the better side of Australian society. On the other side, the threatening and abusive phone calls and letters would continue for months: Cherry was not allowed to answer the phone or open the mail.

Don’s father addressed the crowd. These may not have been his actual words, but they were his sentiments:

First of all, I’d like to thank all of you for being here today to celebrate Cherry’s arrival home. It is marvellous to see all of our family and friends here to welcome the three additions to our family in Cherry, Margaret and Kathleen. Plus the little one on the way.’

‘Today is a significant day in so many ways. It marks our family being finally reunited. It marks a change in government thinking as to who is permitted to live among all of us as our neighbours. And it marks a fundamental truth in that the power of love is stronger than any of us could have imagined. My son fell in love. Everyone told him it was the wrong type of love. His fellow soldiers. The Army. The government. But Gordon, channelling a level of stubbornness that can only be inherited from both myself and my wife, refused to listen. Why should the government decide whom he could marry?’

‘So Gordon fought. And he kept faith. Even in the face of impossible odds, he never gave up. Why? ‘Because he loved his wife, his two daughters, his third unborn child. He never stopped believing that he had a right to bring his family home. He never stopped fighting. And here we are. His belief changed a fifty-year-old immigration policy, a policy some would argue is carved in stone, to allow his family to be here today with all of us. It is my deepest wish that today be only the beginning of a long and happy life for both of you.

And so it was. Gordon died in 2010, bringing this 62-year-old love affair to a close. In 1957 Cherry became the first Asian person to be granted Australian citizenship, though the White Australia policy would only be formally abolished in 1975. Tragically, in 1958 Gordon’s father, Harry, was killed by a drunken driver. His contribution to civic life is marked by the H.E.Parker reserve in Heathmont being named after him.

There’s so much more to this story. I’d encourage you to buy and read the book. You’ll be moved to tears by the tales of love and kindness, cruelty and prejudice. It was originally conceived as a screenplay and may yet become a film.


The book: At the Foot of the Cherry Tree by Alli Parker, pub. 2023 by Harper Collins Australia, ISBN 9781460763520

Life in Box Hill, one of Australia’s strongest Chinese communities (video 2:14):

Alli Parker talks about her book at the Leaf Bookshop (video 17:46)

Alli Parker talks about her book: Better Reading podcast  (video 32:20)

Warm welcome arranged for Japanese wife (Australian Women’s Weekly, July 1952)

Box Hill Cemetery visit

Instead of the usual talk, our October 2022 Box Hill Historical Society meeting took the form of a tour of Box Hill Cemetery (map). After the tour I did a bit of exploring on my own.

Box Hill cemetery first burial

Box Hill cemetery first burial

This story starts in 1872 when twelve acres of reserve to the east of Box Hill was set aside for use as a cemetery. The first burial, of three week old Jessie Lavinia Smith, took place on 30 August 1873.

In 1886 land between the cemetery and the recently extended railway line from Box Hill to Lilydale was annexed as an extension to the cemetery. Then in 1935 a further twelve acres was purchased by the Box Hill Council, bringing the cemetery to its present size of ~12.5 hectares (30.8 acres).

Box Hill cemetery columbarium (1929)

Columbarium (1929)

Box Hill cemetery pavilion (1923)

Pavilion (1923)

Notable structures within the cemetery are the pavilion, built in 1923 to mark the cemetery’s 50th year, and the 1929 columbarium built as a repository for the cremated remains.

In total around 50,000 people are interred at Box Hill. Here are a few of them:

Three businessmen who cared about the less fortunate

Sidney Myer

Grave of Sidney Myer, d.1934

Grave of Sidney Myer, d.1934

The most notable grave is that of Sidney Myer, founder of the department store chain and one of my great heroes. He was born Simcha Baevski in present day Belarus in 1878, coming to Melbourne in 1890. He died suddenly on 5 September 1934, aged just 56.

The Argus summed him up thus: He [Sidney Myer] came to Australia unknown and almost penniless. His life has closed with his name and his deeds known far and wide and with the largest general store in the southern hemisphere as a monument to his business ability.

Business success led Myer to be one of Melbourne’s greatest benefactors and so it’s not too surprising that 100,000 people turned out for his funeral. Through the Myer Foundation his generosity continues to this day.

I am not a politician; I do not seek publicity, nor have I any ulterior motive whatsoever, except my love for Australia and the Australian people.” – Sidney Myer

Why was he buried at Box Hill, rather than an arguably more prestigious place such as Melbourne General Cemetery, particularly since his home was in Toorak? Very possibly because Box Hill could offer such a large site. It’s also the grave site of his widow, Merlyn (1900-1982) and the ashes of his son Kenneth (1921-1992) and wife Yasuko who were killed in a light aircraft crash In Alaska.

William Angliss

Angliss family grave

Angliss family grave

A second prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist is William Angliss (1865-1957). He came to Australia in from England 1884, opened his own butchers shop in Carlton in 1886, then moved into exporting frozen meat. By the early 1930s it was claimed that his was the largest personally controlled meat enterprise in the British Empire.

After selling out to Vesteys in 1934 Angliss pursued other business interests and by 1950 was reputedly the wealthiest man in Australia. From 1912 to 1952, he was a member of the Legislative Council of Victoria, his contribution to public life being recognised by a knighthood in 1939.

Sir William died on 15 June 1957. In his will he left £1 million for the creation of two charitable funds: one in Victoria and one in Queensland, which are administered by the William Angliss Charitable Fund, and he is also commemorated by the William Angliss Institute located in the Melbourne CBD which provides training and vocational education in hospitality and tourism.

Robert Campbell Edwards

Robert Campbell Edwards was born in Ireland in 1862. His father died in a farm accident when he was eight months old. In 1877 his mother decided to follow other family members who had already emigrated to Australia and after a long and trying voyage they arrived in Melbourne in 1878. After working for a tea importer he decided to set up on his own. Over thirty years he built up a large real estate portfolio.

In 1895, perhaps remembering his family’s struggles, and being concerned about the number of homeless boys around Melbourne’s streets, Robert established the Burwood Boys’ Home for destitute boys. The home was founded on the principle that: ‘No truly destitute boy is to be refused admission or turned away.’

When the superintendent of the home objected to the policy of taking in completely desperate cases, Robert replied that this is exactly the sort of boy for which the Burwood Boys Home had been established. From 1972 the home took in girls, operating as the Burwood Children’s Home, closing in 1986 when such institutional care was no longer required. The concern for less fortunate continues under the Campbell Edwards Trust.

Now to the graves of two younger women.

Georgine Gadsden

Georgine Gadsden (1920-1943)

Georgine Gadsden (1920-1943)

Georgine Gadsden (1920-43) was the granddaughter of Jabez Gadsden, founder of the packaging company J.Gadsden Pty Ltd. Her father, Norman Gadsden, served with the Australian Flying Corps in WW1 before rejoining the family business. Her mother, Dorothy, was an operatic singer.

Aged just 23, Georgine met a tragic death on Mt Bogong, Victoria’s highest mountain (6,516 ft/1,986m). The Australian Alpine Club website tells her story,  summarised here:

On August 2 1943, a party of three skiers (Georgine Gadsden, John McRae and Edward Welch) departed Bivouac Hut on the Staircase Spur (4,900ft/1,493m) bound for Summit Hut (6,410ft/ 1,954m) where they planned to spend the night, with the Cleve Cole Memorial Hut being their ultimate destination. Between them they carried sufficient food to last about five days Snow was falling but the party did not consider conditions unduly severe.

On August 5 it was still snowing but with a moderating wind a second group set off for the Summit Hut. Five hours after leaving the Bivouac Hut, they came across the three frozen bodies of the members of the first party lying in the snow, just 80 metres from the almost completely buried Summit Hut. Edward Welch was lying face down. About two metres further up the slope was John McRae’s body. Georgine Gadsden’s body was a further two metres up the slope.

The Gadsden Memorial marks the site of the tragedy.

Once you know this sad story you understand why Georgine’s grave, now ageing, is topped with two crossed skis.

Nellie Catherine Wales, d.1948

Nellie Catherine Wales, d.1948

Nellie Catherine Wales

And now for a mystery. This striking memorial commemorates Nellie Catherine Wales who died in 1948 aged 49. The rain-washed marble waterfall hides its 70+ years well.

The mystery: my Google and Trove searches didn’t produce any information about her, not even a death or funeral notice. Is there, as with Georgine Gadsden’s grave, a story to be told? All I have been able to find out is that Nellie was the daughter of Alexander Wright Wales (1859-1939) who from humble beginnings became a prosperous quarry owner and local politician. Later on, family money endowed  Alexander Wright Wales scholarships at Scotch College. Nellie’s brother George (1885-1962) was Lord Mayor of Melbourne 1934-37.

E.J.B.Forrester and 66 others

E.J.B.Forrester war grave, 1942

E.J.B.Forrester war grave, 1942

And, lastly, war graves: within the cemetery there are 67 war graves. The headstone shown here is similar to those used in many Commonwealth war cemeteries.


If you’re interested in joining a future cemetery tour check out the Box Hill Historical Society web site